Jeanette Galanis, national field director for the organization, said what spending decisions were still being made but she believed a “workable budget” for the push in New York would be $1.5 million.

The tacit message I heard here was that if Gov. Andrew Cuomo really pushes on campaign finance reform — he mentioned the need for reform during his State of the State presentation but has been relatively quiet since — he can do himself a solid in the eyes of union and other lefties on the national scene if he makes progress. Three major unions, the CWA, UAW and SEIU sent Cuomo a letter after his first announcement.

Recall Cuomo pissed off national labor leaders by successfully advocating reduced pension benefits for new public workers, a move supported by local elected officials who say it will save property taxpayers money.

As Galanis said, “Governor Cuomo has a real opportunity here to solidify himself as a national reformer.”

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Capitol Confidential gathers the best coverage of New York politics and puts it all together. Each section - Capitol, The State Worker, New York on the Potomac, and Voices - represents a unique facet of the political scene. The Capitol section features coverage from the Times Union Capitol bureau. The State Worker is dedicated to state worker issues. New York on the Potomac offers news of interest to New Yorkers from Washington. And Voices features the best of everything else, pointing you to columnists and bloggers from across the Web.